Chapter Text
Nino gave Adrien a sympathetic look as he slumped into his seat after an akuma alert.
"Looks like Chat Noir found someone to be Ladybug for a bit."
"Yeah, he was a good choice." Adrien sighed. "He did really good."
Nino nodded and slipped Adrien a note as their teacher began speaking.
Adrien glanced at it and gave Nino a smile of thanks.
Nino had covered for him while he was gone.
Having someone in the know was going to make coming up with excuses far easier.
Adrien tried to focus on the lesson, but all he could think about was how exhausted he was after two hours of trying to wear down the villain enough for the lucky charm to work, and worrying about Marinette. That was without factoring in all the nightmares he had been having.
Sure she was awake, but when would she get to go home?
Adrien took notes as best he could and was just grateful that their teacher was conscious of the Marinette shaped hole in the classroom and didn't expect much out of anyone.
Even Lila had the sense not to gloat about Marinette being gone, though she had seemed quite smug since that day.
At least most of the class was side-eyeing her for how long she had been held by Justice and Vengeance. If she had hurt that many people, it couldn't be an accident, could it?
They didn't have anything though, because she wasn't talking. Knowing she tended to lie as some sort of disability (unlikely but everyone knew she lied at least), they didn't want to hear her lies, and were instead left to wonder to themselves what it was.
Once class was over, Nino dragged Adrien off to find someplace private to talk where no one could overhear.
Neither noticed that Chloe, who had been quiet since her experience with Justice and Vengeance, had been approaching Adrien. She looked after them sadly and sighed before leaving the classroom with her head down.
"You doing okay, dude?" Nino asked worriedly. "You've been out of it."
"It's... everything. Thanks for covering for me for two hours..."
"I got separated from the class and claimed I found you but you needed to go to the bathroom after the ladybugs fixed everything."
"Oh, good one. It's just a lot... Marinette was dying in my arms. She was dying, and she knew it and she accepted it, and those people didn't even know her, they just believed rumors."
Nino grimaced. "Yeah, Lila's lies and rumors are getting out of hand. And most of them are targeted at Marinette. If she really has a problem with compulsive lying or whatever it was, wouldn't her lies be about anything and everything?"
"Yes! Exactly! And just the night before I stopped by Marinette's to talk and she cried on me about how even Alya thinks she's exaggerating things, and you can't tell Alya because Marinette only ever told Chat Noir, sorry."
Nino shrugged. "I know my girl. She's got a blind spot. She thinks that Marinette's anxiety is adorable but unwarranted, but I've known Marinette since we were little. She wasn't always like that. People have hurt her. Not always Chloe, though Chloe has always been the worst."
Adrien frowned. "So she has good reason to be paranoid, and instead of taking her seriously and trying to give her logic to combat the anxiety, Alya just dismissed her?"
Nino shrugged. "Yeah. Alya was the first person to actually stand up for Marinette, you know. Everyone else has been so scared of what Chloe could do for so long we just watched, and talked with Marinette in private. And I don't think Alya really gets how bad it was before this year. And... Marinette can be good at catastrophizing, but the key is redirecting not dismissing."
Adrien nodded. "She doesn't really show me that as myself, but she did show Chat Noir that side of her... It's adorable in some ways, knowing how much she overreacts, but there is some logic to her anxiety. It just doesn't follow normal logic. And I've known Lila was a liar from the beginning. Pretty obvious to me but I'm used to people taking advantage of me... I shouldn't have told Mari to ignore it."
Nino shrugged. "Sometimes ignoring it is a decent solution while you work on a better plan. And it's not like we knew what Lila was capable of. I'm not sure a confrontation would have worked."
"Me either." Adrien sighed. "At least Mari is alive."
Nino nodded. "Feeling better?"
"Yeah. Thanks."
"No problem. Maybe I can talk to Alya."
"I wouldn't want you to get in trouble with your girlfriend."
"I love Alya but Marinette's been my friend since we were little. I don't like that Alya has been treating her like that."
"Oh. Okay. I don't think Mari wants you to break up, she doesn't want to lose Alya."
"Of course not." Nino sighed. "Why is this so complicated? Between superheroes and Shadowmoth, and Lila and Chloe everything has been drama, and that's without all the other surprising things that keep happening."
"No kidding," Adrien agreed. "It's been a wild year so far. Glad you got my back."
"No problem."
Adrien glanced at the time and sighed. "I gotta go. Need to meet up with uh Beetle and go over what happened and better strategies for next time before I need to be at whatever is on my schedule for today."
"Got it. Don't forget you can call me whenever you need me."
"Of course! Thanks, Nino. You're a good friend."
.
Marinette had been awake for three days. They were starting to talk about her getting to go home. She could not wait. She missed her bed. She missed the kwamis. She missed Tikki most of all.
Looked like Chat Noir picked a good partner though, based on the footage.
She was certain it was Luka. While some degree of anonymity was required for holders, the magic that hid identities did not work as well on those who knew the identities... or on the Guardian. Chat Noir was temporary Guardian, but Marinette was still Guardian so she could recognize Luka's features.
Interesting choice.
Marinette sat up as she remembered the first time she woke up.
What was it Adrien had asked? Kagami or Luka for Ladybug? And here was Luka, her answer, being the temporary Ladybug.
Why would Adrien care about that anyway?
Marinette's eyes widened and she covered her mouth.
No. Way.
Was Chat Noir Adrien? Chat Noir and Adrien were the same person?
At first she couldn't see it but then it all made sense.
Adrien admired Ladybug.
They always managed to excuse themselves with little issues, even with ridiculous excuses, and meet up again afterwards with silly excuses.
Adrien did have a sense of humor, but he was still finding himself. Chat Noir could give him the freedom to be comedic that he didn't really have without the costume, like how being Ladybug gave Marinette far more confidence than she really had.
Chat Noir really liked coming to talk to her.
Adrien had been there when she woke up, and had visited every day since, though at different times.
Marinette stared at her hands. She would have to ask him to be sure.
But she was pretty sure that Adrien was Chat Noir. It made sense. All the lies they told each other. All the comments Tikki made.
Marinette let out a breath and smiled, leaning back.
She trusted Chat Noir, and she trusted Adrien. More than that, she knew Adrien. Chat Noir wasn't a stranger underneath the mask. She could trust Adrien to make good decisions, what doubts she had about Chat Noir she didn't have about Adrien.
Despite her dreaminess, she knew that Adrien wasn't perfect. But... in a lot of ways he was, at least to her.
Being Chat Noir only added to that.
Marinette snorted, remembering Banana Noir. It was Adrien under that banana suit. She giggled. That was actually pretty funny.
.
Chat Noir landed on the balcony. He sighed and shook his head before going to the trap door to go check on the kwamis.
"So... Did you really ask me in your civilian form who would be better as Ladybug?" Marinette asked from a comfortable chair.
Chat Noir shrieked and spun. "Mari? You're home!"
"Yeah. Still sore. My parents said I can spend a couple hours here a day but they don't want me up and down ladders and well. Better for me to sleep in the guest room rather than try to figure out how to get a bed set up here I can use."
"Oh, that makes sense." What she had initially said caught up to him.
Chat Noir blushed. "Maybe? If you want me to confirm? I mean it's more dangerous that I know your identity than you knowing mine. I mean, it's still not good but..."
"Considering you managed not to get akumatized when you were dealing with me dying in your arms, I think you might be doing better than we expected."
Chat Noir stopped and blinked. "Oh huh. I never thought about it that way. Yeah. I was reeling from knowing the two I admire most in the world were the same person and I was grieving, but there were things to do and... yeah. I probably should have been akumatized."
"Well, you must have gotten a grip on your emotions fast enough."
"I'm not sure it's so much that as I had so many other things to focus on."
"Oh, you had to redirect your emotions! That's not a bad idea for combating the strong emotions that get Shadowmoth's attention."
Chat Noir nodded. "So am I still temporary Guardian?"
"Until I'm recovered enough to handle full duties again."
"Okay, cool." Chat Noir hesitated and then sighed. "Alright, confession time. Plagg, claws in."
Marinette gasped as her suspicions were confirmed. She hadn't truly believed it until she saw him.
Adrien stepped up to her. "Milady, I love you no matter who you are, alright? I'm sorry I haven't been enough support for you with Lila as myself. It's just... hard to go against my father. Causing conflict just means that my father will get angry at me for making his life harder. But it's not on you to take it."
Marinette looked at him with wide eyes and smiled. "Thank you," she whispered.
"So... I told Nino."
"What?"
"About me, not you. I just... I needed someone who knew that I was the one with you in those last moments before the paramedics alive."
"Oh... oh, Kitty, I'm sorry I didn't think of-"
Adrien put a finger over her lips. "It's okay, Milady. You were dying. You made the right choice. I would have been having a hard time dealing with it being me there, but being unable to tell anyone even if you hadn't given me your earrings."
Marinette sighed. "You're right. Thank you." She made a face. "We're getting therapy, not like... physical therapy but talking therapy so that we can work through things... it really scared my parents. Scared me too... and... I think it's going to help. With other things, too."
"Good, I'm glad."
There was an awkward silence.
"So where does this leave us?" Adrien asked after a while.
"Do you still want to date me?" Marinette blurted out then looked horrified.
Adrien smiled. "I would love to, Mari. I always liked you, but I had my focus on Ladybug. It wasn't the best decision, superhero dating is hard, but..."
Marinette smiled. "Alright. I think I get that. So... dating?"
Adrien's cheeks went a bit pink. "If you're ready for that after what happened."
"I think I am. I don't... I'm not very good at..." Marinette gestured between them.
Adrien caught her hand and kissed it. "That's okay. I'm not good at it either. I got all my moves from watching movies and tv shows and I get the feeling those are pretty inaccurate."
Marinette chuckled. "Yeah, not very good."
"How about for our first date we do movie and popcorn here in your room or in the guest room?" Adrien suggested.
Marinette went deep red. She nodded. "I'd like that," she mumbled.
"Great! It's a date!" Adrien beamed. "Wait... what about your parents...?"
"Once we figure out when, I'll let them know and you'll be let in."
"Works for me." Adrien hesitated, then kissed her cheek.
"Sugarcube is gonna be mad she missed this," Plagg commented.
"Oh, I am not going to be the one to tell her!" Sass said. "She gets to spend time with my holder anyway."
Adrien listened as the kwamis chimed in with possible reactions from Tikki and why they did or didn't want to tell her.
"They can be a lot," Marinette sighed. "I hope they haven't given you any trouble?"
"Not at all. They can be a bit overwhelming but you were right about them knowing enough to help me."
"Oh, good, I was worried."
They heard noise.
"Plagg, claws out," Adrien hissed as he stepped away.
"Let me know if you need anything, okay? You do have my number."
Marinette smiled. "I know. I'll let you know. Thank you again."
"You're welcome."
The trapdoor opened.
Chat Noir waved awkwardly at her parents. "I was just on my way out, heard a rumor she was coming home soon and wanted to check and well, I'm going to go now."
Marinette giggled and waved.
.
Chat Noir huffed as he found Beetle. "We meet again."
"Does Shadowmoth ever take a break?" Beetle groaned. "I don't know how anyone can do this superheroing daily for months."
Chat Noir laughed. "He does seem to take breaks, but never when we want them. I don't mind so much, making excuses sometimes is a pain, but I like this freedom. You don't need freedom though, do you?"
Beetle hummed thoughtfully. "I don't really need freedom, but it is nice to have something more concrete to fight against. I'm the level headed one, so people rely on me for wisdom and advice. It does not always work out."
Chat Noir, thinking of all the times he had gone to Luka for advice, grimaced. "Everyone?"
"Even my parents and other adults sometimes," Beetle confirmed. "It's not like my advice does much if they don't listen, and I'm always worried I am missing something and getting it wrong. They do seem to leave happy but... I like seeing actual results of my success sometimes. And it gives me a reason to duck out of those conversations sometimes even if I do need to come up with a reason to disappear."
"Oh, wow. I'm sorry."
"Most of the time I don't mind. It's nice when I get away from it for a bit to something I can actually hit."
Chat Noir laughed, then stopped. "Disappear huh... Maybe that's what we need. A way to make it look like everything has disappeared. Lucky charm?"
"Lucky charm!" Beetle caught the mirror. "Huh..." He looked around.
Chat Noir waited.
"Got it!" Beetle was relieved. "I don't know how Ladybug does this so easily."
"Yeah, she's something special alright." Chat Noir sighed dreamily, then shook himself to listen to Beetle's plan. It wasn't as straightforward as Chat Noir would go with, but it wasn't as convoluted as Ladybug's either. It was more twisty. Snake-like tactics, or what people associated with snakes, anyway.
It wasn't working with Ladybug, but Chat Noir knew he made the right choice, or rather, Ladybug did.
They made it through the end and Beetle tossed the mirror into the sky to fix the damage.
"Another successful fight."
"Another successful fight," Beetle agreed. "Hopefully we get more than twenty four hours of break this time."
Chat Noir laughed. "You jinxed it. We'll get twenty-five hours."
Beetle snorted.
Chat Noir held up a fist.
Beetle smiled and held up his.
"Pound it."
Both of their Miraculous started beeping so they went their separate ways to return to normal life.
.
Adrien smiled at Marinette's parents and waved.
Marinette was in her room again.
"You're moving around better," Adrien said.
"Yeah, I might get to go back to school next week, as long as I can just stay at my desk all day."
"Oh that's great!" Adrien grinned. "I missed you in school."
"I miss you too, and everyone else."
"Even Chloe?"
"Even Chloe. She's not that bad, not since Miracle Queen."
"That wasn't so long ago."
Marinette sighed and looked up at him. "She was seeing through Lila's lies. She may be a spoiled brat but I swear she was defending me at some points."
"Yeah, Chloe isn't the brightest, but she's not stupid. I wonder what Lila said that clued her in though."
"I don't know. It was weird." Marinette sighed. "But yeah, I do miss Chloe. I don't miss Lila though. I'd be happy if she disappeared and never returned again."
"Me too." Adrien sat down and wrapped his arm around her. "But Lila's facing some consequences."
"She is?" Marinette looked up.
"Yeah, it's all over the news, you know, that they were following a rumor and didn't check with their sister. And, once they heard the exact rumor, quite a few of the class confronted Lila to see if it was her lie. She got you hurt, no one was going to let that slide this time, though they tried to wait her out initially."
"Really?" Marinette asked, surprised.
"Of course. Everyone loves you because you're always trying your best for everyone. I think that's why Chloe is so jealous of you. You make friends just by being yourself, but Chloe never really learned that."
"Oh. They never spoke up before."
"Before what lies they knew about did no harm or were easily resolved. This time, you could have died. Lila acting like nothing bad had happened did not help."
"She was held under the pain thing for a long time too wasn't she?" Marinette asked thoughtfully. "They had to have noticed that she wasn't reacting like Chloe, and that despite all Chloe's done, Lila was stuck for longer."
"That was also brought up, but you know the general rule isn't to pry. Lila immediately tried to play it off like she's putting on a brave front but no one bought it. We all know that no matter what Chloe goes through, she responds with anger not tears. But there were tears. Lila? Acted like nothing had happened. It was freaky, no one else had that reaction."
"And I bet she's trying to lie about that, huh?"
"I think at one point she tried to claim it didn't work on her, but Max debunked that quickly."
"Good." Marinette smiled. "Doubt she'll leave me alone."
"Doubt she'll leave us alone, once she realizes we're together."
"Oh no, I didn-"
"It's okay. I've figured something out. Nathalie sometimes likes to help me out so I told her all about the lies and such that you've told me. She's looking into it and I don't think she's happy."
"Oh, good. She have your back?"
"Not always. She's my dad's assistant, so I'll take what I can get though I think they'd make a good couple and she'd be a good stepmom. But... I think she's dying the same way my mom did, and there never was an explanation for my mom."
"Oh... Adrien, I'm so sorry."
"It's okay. Can we talk about something else?"
"Of course."
"Beetle brought up something that I've been thinking about. Shadowmoth doesn't give us breaks. There has to be something we can do to see if there's a pattern on the times of day he does it, and the times he gives us breaks."
Marinette blinked. "I do have a calendar of that..." she admitted sheepishly. "I started it because I needed the reminder of why I was finding it hard to keep up with everything. Write it down after, and a glance will remind me and... yeah. Maybe there's a pattern."
"Where is it?"
Adrien followed her directions and pulled it out. He was amused that some of the akumas were accompanied with little drawings. And she listed which villain was which.
He started looking through it and it hit him.
"Hasn't it ever struck you as odd that out of everyone in Paris, our class keeps ending up targeted? Or you and I end up in the same vicinity?"
"It is strange. I'm always glad it's easy to help but... And there's that time we went to China."
"And the United States. It's like he's following us but he can't be, he doesn't know his identities."
"You realize this means we can narrow suspects down to people who were in China and the United States when we were?"
Adrien nodded and then his eyes widened. "Oh no," he whispered and started flipping through. He stopped on Hero Day.
He pulled out his phone and pulled up his notes. "Oh no... he did... oh fuck."
"Adrien?"
"I don't want to go home."
"...no..." Marinette gasped. "But... he was... and..."
Adrien nodded. "The times he said he wasn't to be disturbed line up. Nathalie started getting sick after the first time we saw a sentimonster."
"And the spellbook! All the times he let himself be a victim to avoid suspicion..."
They shared looks of horror. "What do we do?" Marinette asked.
"I don't know... I think I need to talk to Nathalie. Father should be gone on a business trip in a few hours. I can ask questions when I get home... and if Shadowmoth does nothing over the next five days..."
"Then we know. And we need to make a plan."
"Full team of Miraculous users, and you back on your feet."
"That could be at least a month!"
"I know. I don't... if Shadowmoth is my father... I don't want to face him without you at my side, milady."
"Of course, Kitty." Marinette kissed him.
Adrien stared at her with wide eyes.
She pulled away and gasped, covering her mouth as she turned a deep red.
Adrien smiled and pulled her hands away to give her a kiss.
"Thank you. We'll figure this out. I just need to figure out how to make sure he doesn't clue into what we know. At least he's gone right now."
Marinette nodded. "You're so smart, Adrien."
"So are you, Mari. I'm glad we're dating."
"I'm glad we're going to work this out."
Both might as well have said "I love you" with all the meaning in the words.